New COVID-19 cases exceed 1,400 in November in Waterloo region

There have been more than 1,400 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Waterloo region this month.

On Monday, Region of Waterloo Public Health reported 73 new cases, bringing the total for the month to 1,432. Since March, there have been 3,586 cases, meaning 37 per cent of all reported cases were reported this month.

There are 554 active cases in the region with 27 people in hospital and eight of those people in the intensive care unit.

No new deaths were reported Monday. The number of COVID-related deaths remains at 125. 

The number of cases marked as resolved rose to 2,906, or 81 per cent.

Ontario reported 1,746 cases of COVID-19 on Monday.

22 active outbreaks

There are 22 active outbreaks in Waterloo region. Two are at long-term care homes where one outbreak involves two staff members who have tested positive. The other outbreak is one staff member at another home. No one living at either home has tested positive for the virus.

The outbreak at Village Manor in St. Jacobs continues, with a total of 30 cases: 10 in staff members and 20 in residents of the assisted living facility. One person's death has been linked to that outbreak.

There is also an outbreak in the 5S medicine unit at Grand River Hospital in Kitchener and on the wing B level 4 medicine unit of Cambridge Memorial Hospital.

Other outbreaks are:

• One at a congregate setting with one case.
• One at a racquet sports-related facility with 24 cases. The region has not named this location.
• One that is hockey related with nine cases.
• One that is dance-class related with two cases.
• One at a food and beverage service workplace with two cases.
• Two outbreaks are at manufacturing workplaces: one with two cases and one with three cases.
• One outbreak at a construction workplace with two cases.
• One outbreak is at a food processing workplace with 10 cases.
• One outbreak at a automobile sales and service workplace with three cases.
• One outbreak at an industrial equipment sales workplace with nine cases.
• One at a trades workplace with three cases.
• One outbreak at a child care centre with two cases.

Waterloo region health officials do not name specific workplaces with outbreaks unless there is an associated risk to the general public who may have been at the location, such as in a restaurant or retail outlet where contact tracing cannot be done.

There are four outbreaks at schools:

• Blessed Sacrament Catholic Elementary School in Kitchener with two cases.
• St. Bernadette Catholic Elementary School in Kitchener with two cases.
• Centennial Public School in Waterloo with three cases.
• William G. Davis Public School in Cambridge with two cases.

Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, Waterloo region's medical officer of health, has also issued a section 22 order under the Health Protection and Promotion Act to the region's Mennonite communities.

Schools and churches in the communities have been ordered closed except for in certain circumstances because Wang says there's been "insufficient co-operation among a number of individuals with public health requirements."